Attitudes to E-learning: A National Survey 2000
E-learning, like everything, is much in the news at present. But few of us really know what is happening or being planned on the (virtual) ground.
This document presents the findings of a survey undertaken jointly by the Campaign for Learning, KPMG, Ufi Ltd. and Peter Honey Learning. The following extract focuses on employer budget holders for e-learning, and addresses current buying patterns and the key issues among those (considering) purchasing e-learning on behalf of organisations.
The sample of employers and users of e-learning is almost equally divided between private sector (43%) and public and voluntary sector employers (57%). The employers also represent a range of sizes; 25% have less than 100 employees, 49% between 101 and 10,000 employees and a quarter (23%) are large with more than 10,000 employees. Half of these employers have Investors in People status (50%), which is higher than the national average. In addition, nearly a third (30%) have a Corporate University or other corporate learning strategy, and this is not limited to the larger organisations. All this indicates that the sample is, in general, positively disposed towards training and learning.
There is considerable ignorance among employers about the number of e-learners within their organisation; 39% do not know, rising to 50% among those with over 200 employees.
Overall, 30% of employers have less than ten e-learners in their organisation (although the majority of these are organisations with less than 100 employees).
Budgets
As would be expected among a sample of employers which varies greatly in size, the size of the annual training budget also varies widely, partly according to number of employees. One in six (16%) spend less than £10,000 on training annually and one in five (18%) spend more than £1 million each year.
There is a surprising lack of knowledge among employers about the proportion of the budget spent on e-learning; two in five (43%) do not know or did not respond. Three quarters (76%) of those who did respond spend less than 10% of their annual training budget on e-learning. Over half of employers (55%) report the proportion of the training budget spent on e-learning is increasing although, again, there is a significant lack of knowledge (30% do not know). The organisations which are already spending more on e-learning are more likely to be increasing the proportion spent.
Delivering E-learning
Almost all employers have some PC capacity for employees to access e-learning materials, although this tends to be limited; in 32% access is limited to some employees. Three in ten (27%) have dedicated learning PC facilities available for use to all employees, and this is not restricted to larger organisations. Overall two-thirds of the employers have an intranet, but this is less common in the smaller organisations.
Less encouraging is the support available; 37% of organisations do not offer any learning or technical support for e-learning. This lack of support is in contrast to the majority of e-learners who express a desire for it. The most common forms of support currently available are technical support available over the telephone (27%) and a learning support person in the place of work (25%).
| E-learning support offered to employees |
% |
| Technical support person available on the phone |
27 |
| Learning support person in place of work |
25 |
| Learning support person at nearby learning centre |
18 |
| Learning support person available for e-mailed advice |
18 |
| Technical support person in place of work |
16 |
| Learning support person available by phone |
16 |
| Electronic learning support built into learning programmes |
14 |
| No-one |
37 |
The most common way that employers currently deliver e-learning services to employees is by buying existing products and offering them through either an intranet or CD-ROM (57%). Other frequent methods are asking employees to search the web for suitable materials (45%) and developing materials in-house (41%). The most frequent approaches to delivering e-learning are also the ones considered to be most important.
| Current methods for delivering e-learning services |
% |
Buy existing market products and offer through intranet/CD-ROM |
57 |
| Ask employees to search web for suitable materials |
45 |
| Materials developed in-house |
41 |
| Contract with software development/e-learning companies for bespoke materials |
27 |
| Use shared portal arrangements with partners |
23 |
| Take free materials from the web and put on intranet |
9 |
The low level use of shared portal arrangements ties in with the Xebec McGraw Hill/Training Magazine finding that 44% of their respondents have no plans to use portals and 33% do not know what type of portals they may use in the future.
Provider/Employer partnerships
Nearly half of employers (45%) do not currently have any partnerships in place for the delivery of e-learning and one in four (27%) do not have any plans to create any. The partnerships which are in place are most often with in-house IT departments (18%), specialist e-learning providers (11%) and software development companies (14%). In addition, one in ten (11%) have a partnership with learndirect.
It does not appear that employers are forming partnerships, or planning to form them, with public sector providers such as FE colleges and universities.
Organisations considered for advice and partnerships by employers
| |
Current partnerships |
Plans forpartnerships |
Consider for advice |
| Private Consultants |
9 |
16 |
36 |
| Online Websites |
5 |
16 |
50 |
| Learndirect |
11 |
9 |
32 |
| Local Business Link |
0 |
2 |
14 |
| In-house IT dept. |
18 |
23 |
4 |
| Chamber of Commerce |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Local TEC |
2 |
5 |
41 |
| Further Education college |
5 |
7 |
7 |
| University |
7 |
9 |
16 |
| Professional Body/Association |
5 |
14 |
45 |
| Colleagues/Friends |
5 |
9 |
39 |
| Other Training Providers |
9 |
16 |
32 |
| Software Development Companies |
14 |
14 |
27 |
| Specialist E-Learning Providers |
11 |
30 |
70 |
| None of the above |
45 |
27 |
|
| Don't know/not stated |
11 |
18 |
2 |
Employers tend to turn to the same organisations for advice on buying or developing e-learning as they do for partnerships. However, professional bodies and associations (45%), local TECs (41%) and colleagues and friends (39%) play a larger role in providing e-learning support than partnerships.
Attitudes
General Attitudes
Employers tend to hold positive attitudes towards e-learning and its potential, although there are signs of some 'healthy scepticism'.
The majority believe that e-learning will bring huge advances in their organisation's capacity for either learning or delivering learning. However, a significant proportion of employers (23%) are undecided about the potential of e-learning to increase the amount of learning in their organisation.
e-learning compares favourably with traditional approaches to learning. Only a very small proportion of employers think e-learning adds little to traditional educational approaches.
E-learning in the future
Despite these positive attitudes employers do not think the future of learning lies solely with e-learning. Three-quarters of employers do not think that training in their organisation will one day be delivered wholly through e-learning. One reason for this may be attitudes towards soft skills; 41% of employers believe that human or soft skills will always be more important than technical skills with a further 34% undecided.
| |
Agree |
Neither |
Disagree |
| E-learning will bring huge advances in my organisation's capacity to learn |
81 |
9 |
7 |
| |
Agree |
Neither |
Disagree |
| E-learning adds little to traditional educational/ training approaches |
5 |
9 |
84 |
| |
Agree |
Neither |
Disagree |
| One day my organisation will receive all its learning provisions through e-learning |
7 |
11 |
75 |
The cost of e-learning
Employers are positive about cost effectiveness; nearly half (46%) agree that it is more cost effective, with only a small minority disagreeing (5%), but nearly as many undecided.
All employers who think e-learning is more cost-effective than other means of learning believe there are savings related to reduced travel costs and associated staff time. Half also believe savings come through reducing 'unnecessary' learning through 'just in time' delivery. Other important savings are believed to be on accommodation costs and salaries for trainers.
E-learning is more cost effective than other forms of (work related) learning
| |
Agree |
Neither |
Disagree |
| |
46 |
43 |
5 |
Benefits of e-learning
Users think one of the main benefits of e-learning is that of access; 66% of employers think e-access reduces the time spent 'off the job'. This finding may account for the perception among a third of individuals that employers use e-learning to make them undertake learning in their own time.
The benefits of structuring e-learning into 'chunks' relevant to the learner or employee are also seen as important by employers (48%). Similarly, the ability to monitor the learning process is considered a significant benefit (23%). Employers are likely to mention the capacity to tailor e-learning to individual's needs.
The benefit perceived by employers in terms of tailoring learning is not reflected in the views of individual e-learners. Only 7% of e-learners associate e-learning with the ability to tailor learning to their individual needs. The range of material available (39%) and the ability to disseminate learning quickly (50%) are also seen as significant benefits.
Interestingly, despite the apparently positive attitudes of many individuals toward e-learning, employers don't think that individuals have a preference for e-learning over other forms; only 5% mention this as a benefit of e-learning.
| Benefits of e-learning: Employers |
% |
Learning can be accessed at the workplace, reducing the time spent 'off the job' |
66 |
| New learning can be disseminated more rapidly than through traditional approaches |
50 |
Only need to purchase those learning 'chunks' that are directly
relevant to an employee's needs |
48 |
| Tailored to individual employee's needs |
43 |
| Wide range of material available for e-learning |
39 |
| Employee progress can be monitored and information made available to them and their tutors |
23 |
| Employees prefer e-learning over other forms of training |
5 |
| No benefits over other forms of training and development |
0 |
The uses of e-learning
Employers believe that e-learning is most effective for developing technical skills for work (82%) and for information updating for work (68%). Surprisingly, fewer employers see e-learning as effective for sharing information with colleagues (55%). Employers are less likely to view e-learning as an effective means for learning soft skills or as a creative tool. This is in contrast to the recent Xebec McGraw Hill/Training Magazine survey, which showed that management skills and professional development and personal skills are key growth areas for e-learning delivered through intranets.
Employers are most likely to view e-learning as an effective solution to work related learning, and only 11% mention personal interests. This contrasts with individual e-learners, who think e-learning is particularly useful for satisfying their personal curiosity and interests.
| Skills for which e-learning provides the most effective solution (Employers) |
% |
| Developing new technical skills for work (eg computers, new processes) |
82 |
| Information updating for work (e.g new developments/research, etc) |
68 |
| Sharing information with colleagues |
55 |
| Research |
30 |
| Developing new ideas/creative learning |
11 |
| Learning about personal interests/hobbies |
11 |
| Leadership/management skills |
7 |
| Improving reading and writing skills |
0 |
| Teamwork and inter-personal skills |
0 |
Disadvantages of e-learning
Employers believe that the main disadvantage of e-learning is that it is not sufficiently developed to replace other forms of training (55%). In addition, the cost of hardware, either implementation or updating, is thought to be a disadvantage (23%).
Employers do not believe that a resistance to learning using computers is a major disadvantage. Only 14% of employers think learners are resistant to learning using computers.
There are some reservations about the effectiveness of e-learning, with 23% of employers believing it is not as effective as face-to-face teaching. One in ten (11%) of employers think e-learning during work time is not conducive to effective learning. The latter may be related to the finding in the Xebec McGraw-Hill/Training Magazine survey that the greatest issue preventing effective delivery of e-learning among those who have an intranet is 'interruptions at the desktop'.
Finally, employers cite a lack of knowledge about the opportunities for e-learning (30%) as a significant disadvantage.
| Disadvantages of e-learning Employers/Users |
% |
| e-learning is not yet well enough developed to replace other forms of training and development |
55 |
| e-learning materials do not meet the precise needs of my business |
30 |
| I don't know enough about the opportunities for e-learning |
30 |
| Cost of hardware is too expensive to implement/update |
23 |
| Computer based learning is not as effective as face to face teaching |
23 |
| My employees are resistant to learning using computers |
14 |
| e-learning during work time is not conducive to effective learning |
11 |
| No disadvantages |
7 |
* Training and Enterprise Councils have since been replaced by Learning Skills Councils (LSCs)
For more information about the survey from which the preceding extracts are taken, you can contact:
Campaign for Learning, 19 Buckingham Street,
London WC2N 6EF
www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk
Peter Marples, KPMG, 2 Cornwall Street, Birmingham B3 2DL
Email: peter.marples@kpmg.co.uk
Ufi Ltd., The Innovation Centre, 217 Portobello, Sheffield S1 4DP
www.ufiltd.co.uk
Peter Honey Learning, Ardingley House, 10 Linden Avenue, Maidenhead SL6 6HB
www.peterhoney.co.uk
